Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I've been meaning to buy a personal blender for over a year now. I have a huge Ninja which works wonderfully, but it's a huge pain in the ass to clean out afterwards, and I always end up making too much with it. The only reason I've been so hesitant for so long was because of all of the negative reviews - not necessarily just for this product, but for pretty much ALL personal blenders under 30 bucks. I seriously gave myself headaches from all the time I spent researching these. Ultimately, I bit the bullet and ended up buying this, the Black & Decker Fusion Blade Personal Blender. Long name, amazing results. (Haha, don't sue me). Even though I was hoping to stay under $20, I wasn't too keen on the idea of a $15 blender that would break right away, leaving me with no choice but to buy yet another one. I'm pretty frugal; I'd rather learn from other's mistakes rather than make my own, if I can. And, hopefully, maybe some of you can learn from me. Overall, I'd give this blender roughly a 3.5 star rating, but torn between 3 and 4, I had to lean towards 4. It's not because it's a super great quality product exactly, but if you use it properly, it gets the job done. What's more important than that? I will note now that the plastic isn't the greatest quality under the sun. It's not as appealing to the eye, and looks almost like a toy (you'd understand if you saw it in person). That being said, I wasn't buying this blender for its looks - if that's important to you, you might want to weigh your options. It's not ugly - it's just not pretty, either. Now that that's out of the way, onto the important junk! PRO 1 - It comes with TWO bottles with matching lids. This is great just in case you happen to break one of them (because replacing them is roughly 2/3 the cost of the actual blender itself, and that's not worth it), as well as if you'd like to make one for someone else. My permanent roommate is the exact opposite of me in a lot of ways, and that includes tastes in smoothies. If she spots the peanut butter or the bananas out, she'll dart. I imagine you could also make two smoothies at once and save the other for later - although I haven't tested putting it in the freezer yet. I imagine it should be fine. PRO 2 - It's relatively small. This is particularly good if you're short on counter or cupboard space. PRO 3 - It has a 275 watt motor. And yes, that's a pro! The reason for this is because a lot of competing personal blenders don't even break the 200 watt point. This guy tuckers out quick, so I honestly can't even imagine how anything weaker than this would even hold up. PRO 4 - EASY. CLEAN. UP. If you've never had a blender before, then simply take my word for it - cleaning those things out is the biggest pain in the ass ever. Especially if you have blades that run through the entire thing rather than just at the bottom. Even though I have a gorgeous Ninja blender, I rarely touch it because of how difficult it is to clean up afterwards. With this, you just give the blade a quick rinse and it's pretty much ready to go again. This is probably by far my favorite feature, at least for me, personally. I feel so spoiled when I go to clean up and it's all done in literally two minutes. PRO 5 - It DOES blend ice just fine! I use the Cubette Mini Ice Cube Trays (about $5-6 here on Amazon) and it has absolutely no problems with it. I haven't used large, full size ice cubes, but I think it could handle one or two. Just pulse it slowly, not all at once. PRO 6 - It allows you to press in the button and have it blend continuously, or you have the option of tapping the button to manually pulse it yourself. Personally I'm a fan of the pulsing method. And boo, here comes the other stuff. CON 1 - The plastic is ugly. Albeit, I only purchased the red blender, so I can't truthfully speak for all of the other colors. I can't imagine they'd be too terribly different though. CON 2 - The lids are kind of weird. If you're drinking a particularly thin smoothie it might work alright, but it seems like it would be a bit awkward for thicker drinks. The spout is also shaped oddly. I honestly don't care for it, but at the same time I really don't have much use for the lids as it is. I drink my smoothies at home for the most part, so I don't even bother putting the lid on. I just pop a straw in and BAM. S'all good. Though I suppose having the lid, even if it is a bit awkward, is better than not. So yeah. CON 3 - While the motor IS stronger than most other personal blenders in this general price range, it's still a relatively tiny motor. Because of this, I wouldn't suggest holding the button in any longer than 10 seconds max. Any longer and yes, you will start to get a bit of a burnt plastic smell. The smell is pretty faint and disappears entirely after a few seconds so long as you stop blending once you smell it. That scent is basically the little motor panting, like "okay, enough, no more!" It's a wittle guy. It tries. I knew to expect this after researching other reviews, and because of that, I knew exactly how to handle it. All you have to do is stick to pulsing it manually. I've blended everything from kale, strawberries, peanut butter, bananas, ice, yogurt, and cocoa and protein powders. None of my drinks so far have taken any longer than about 30-60 seconds to finish blending - probably less than that, honestly. Just tap, tap, tap, tap, tap. Pause. Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap. Pause. Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap. Done. It's really not much trouble, but it is technically a con and something you should be aware of before buying this product. If you hold the button down too long you're going to get that burnt plastic smell and your motor will likely wear out much faster. Just remember to be patient and take it easy, and I promise you, this works like a charm. One final tip - it's not just the pulsing you should be careful with. Basically, don't use unnecessary force. Don't try to screw it in tight - do it lightly until you hear it click into place; takes about a second. I know it might not feel that secure, but I haven't had a single leak yet. If you're rough and try to screw it in tight, you'll likely end up breaking the seal or the bottle, rendering it useless. If you let your kids use it, make sure to show them how and express the importance of doing it gently. If you're gentle, it'll actually last and it'll blend just fine. And that's about it. I bought this item at full price with my own money, so this is a completely optional review! Everything I've said is my honest opinion, obviously, and I posted here in hopes of helping someone else make the best decision for them. I'll be sure to update in the future if anything goes wrong; if I don't update, assume all is well. No news is good news!